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第23节

jeremy-第23节

小说: jeremy 字数: 每页4000字

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like! Why; Cook says she knew a 'ouse once 。 。 。〃

But Jeremy did not listen; he did not care。 As Hamlet sprang about
him and licked his hand he thought of one thing alone。

The Captain was gone! The Captain was gone! He was free! The Captain
had not taken him; and he was free at last!




CHAPTER VI

FAMILY PRIDE


I


I am afraid that too great a part of this book is about old maids;
but it is hard for anyone who knows only the thriving bustling world
of today to realise how largely we children were hemmed in and
surrounded by a proper phalanx of elderly single ladies and
clergymen。 I don't believe that we were any the worse for that; and
to such heroines as Miss Jane Maple; Miss Mary Trefusis and old Miss
Jessamin Trenchard; I here publicly acknowledge deep and lasting
debt…but it did make our life a little monotonous; a little
unadventurous; a little circumscribed …and because T am determined
to give the whole truth and nothing but the truth about the year of
Jeremy's life that I am describing; this book will also; I am
afraid; be a little circumscribed; a little unadventurous。

The elderly lady who most thoroughly circumscribed Jeremy was; of
courseputting Miss Jones; who was a governess and therefore did
not count; asideAunt Amy。

Now Aunt Amy was probably the most conceited woman in Polchester。
There is of course ordinary human conceit; of which every living
being has his or her share。 I am not speaking of that; Miss Amy
Trefusis might be said to be fanatically conceited。

Although she was now a really plain elderly woman it is possible
that when she was a little girl she was pretty。 In any case; it is
certain that she was spoiled when she was a little girl; and because
she was delicate and selfish she received a good deal more attention
and obedience from weak and vacillating elders than she deserved。

After her growing up she had a year or two of moderate looks and she
received; during this period; several proposals; these she refused
because they were not good enough and something better must be
coming very shortly; but what really came very shortly was middle…
age; and it came of course entirely unperceived by the lady。 She
dressed and behaved as though she were still twenty; although her
brother Samuel tried to laugh her out of such absurdities。 But no
sister ever pays attention to a brother on such matters; and Aunt
Amy wore coloured ribbons and went to balls and made eyes behind her
fan for season after season。 Then as time passed she was compelled
by her mirror to realise that she was not quite so young as she had
once been; so she hurriedly invented a thrilling past history for
herself; alluding to affair after affair that had come to nothing
only because she herself had ruthlessly slain them; and dressing
herself more reasonably; but with little signs and hints; in the
shape of chains and coloured bows and rings; that she could still be
young if she so pleased; and that she was open to offers; although
she could not promise them much encouragement。 She liked the society
of Canons; and was to be seen a great deal with old Canon Borlase;
who was as great a flirt as he was an egotist; so that it did not
matter to him in the least with whom he flirted; and sat at the feet
of old Canon Morpheu; who was so crazy about the discoveries that he
had made in the life of Ezekiel that it was quite immaterial to him
to whom he explained them。

She descended from these clerical flights into the bosom of family
life with some natural discontent。 Her brother Samuel she had always
disliked because he laughed at her; her sister she did not care for
because she was very innocently; poor lady; flaunting her superior
married state; and her brother…in…law she did not like because he
always behaved as though she were one of a vast public of elderly
ladies who were useful for helping in clerical displays; but were
otherwise non…existent。 Then she hated children; so that she really
often wondered why she continued to live with her brother…in…law;
but it was cheap; comfortable and safe; and although she assured
herself and everyone else that there were countless homes wildly
eager to receive her; it was perhaps just as well not to put their
eagerness too abruptly to the test。

There had been war between her and Jeremy since Jeremy's birth; but
it had been war of a rather mild and inoffensive character;
consisting largely in Jeremy on his side putting out his tongue at
her when she could not see him; and she on her side sending him to
wash his ears when they really did not require to be washed。 She had
felt always in Jeremy an obstinate dislike of her; and as he had
seemed to her neither a very clever nor intelligent child she had
consoled herself very easily with the thought that he did not like
her simply because he was stupid。 So it had been until this year;
and then suddenly they had been flung into sharper opposition。 It
was hard to say what had brought this about; but it was perhaps that
Jeremy had sprung suddenly from the unconscious indifference of a
young child into the active participation of a growing boy。 Whatever
the truth might have been; the coming of Hamlet had drawn their
attitudes into positive conflict。

Aunt Amy had felt from the first that Hamlet laughed at her。 Had you
asked her to state; as a part of her general experience; that she
really believed that dogs could laugh at human beings she would
indignantly have repudiated any idea so fantastic; nevertheless;
unanalysed and unconfronted; that was her conviction。 The dog
laughed at her; he insulted her by walking into her bedroom with his
muddy feet and then pretending that he hadn't known that it was her
bedroom; regarding her through his hair with an ironical and
malicious glance; barking suddenly when she made some statement as
though he enjoyed immensely an excellent joke; but; above all;
despising her; she felt; so that the wall of illusion that she had
built around herself had been pulled down by at least one creature;
more human; she knew; in spite of herself; than many human beings。
Therefore; she hated Hamlet; and scarcely a day passed that she did
not try to have him flung from the house; or at least kept in the
kitchen offices。

Hamlet had; however; won the hearts of the family; it was; indeed;
Aunt Amy alone to whom he had not thought it worth while to pay
court。 To her alone he would not come when she called; by her alone
he would not be cajoled; even though she offered him sugary tea; his
deadliest temptation。 No; he sat and looked at her through his hair;
his fiery eye glinting; his peaked beard ironically humorous; his
leg stuck out from his body; a pointing signal of derision。

She resolved to wait for an opportunity when she might conquer
Hamlet and Jeremy together; but her power in the house was slight;
so long as Mr。 and Mrs。 Cole were there。 〃If I only had the children
to myself;〃 she would say; 〃I would improve their manners in many
ways。 Poor Alice!〃 Then suddenly she did have them。 At the
beginning of May Mr。 Cole was summoned to take a mission to the
seamen of Drymouth; and Mrs。 Cole; who had relations in Drymouth;
accompanied him。 They would be absent from Pelchester a whole week。

〃Oh; won't Aunt Amy be a nuisance;〃 said Jeremy; realising the
situation。 Then turning to Mary he added: 〃We'll pretend to do what
she tells us and not do it really。 That's much the easiest。〃

A week is a short time; especially at the beginning of a shining and
burning May; but Aunt Amy did her best not only with the children
but with the servants; and even old Jordan; the gardener; who had
been with the Cole family for twenty years。 During that short week
the cook; the parlourmaid; Rose; the housemaid; and the bootboy all
gave notice; and Mrs。 Cole was only able to keep them (on her
return) by raising the wages of all of them。 Jordan; who was an old
man with a long white beard; said to her when she advised him to
plant pinks where he had planted tulips and tulips where he had
planted pinks; and further inquired why the cauliflower that he sent
in was so poor and the cabbages so small: 〃Leave things alone; Miss;
Nature's wiser than we be; not but what you mayn't mean well; but
fussin's never done any good where Nature's concerned; nor never
will〃; and when she said that he was very rude to her; he shook his
head and answered:

〃Maybe yes; and maybe no。 What's rude to one ain't rude to another〃…
…out of which answer she could make nothing at all。

In the schoolroom she sustained complete defeat。 At the very outset
she was baffled by Miss Jones。 She had always despised Miss Jones as
a poor unfortunate female who was forced to teach children in her
old age because she must earn her livinga stupid; sentimental;
cowed; old woman at whom the children laughed。 She found now that
the children instead of laughing at her laughed with her; formed a
phalanx of protection around her and refused to be disobedient。 Miss
Jones herself was discovered to have a dry; rather caustic; sense of
humour that Aunt Amy felt to be impertinence; but could not
penetrate。

〃And is that really how you teach them history; Miss Jones? Not

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